US11782253B2 - Objective lens, optical system, and microscope - Google Patents

Objective lens, optical system, and microscope Download PDF

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US11782253B2
US11782253B2 US16/595,673 US201916595673A US11782253B2 US 11782253 B2 US11782253 B2 US 11782253B2 US 201916595673 A US201916595673 A US 201916595673A US 11782253 B2 US11782253 B2 US 11782253B2
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lens
positive
cemented
negative
conditional expression
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US20200033577A1 (en
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Katsuya Watanabe
Azuna NONAKA
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Nikon Corp
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Nikon Corp
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B21/00—Microscopes
    • G02B21/02—Objectives
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B21/00—Microscopes
    • G02B21/33—Immersion oils, or microscope systems or objectives for use with immersion fluids
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B9/00—Optical objectives characterised both by the number of the components and their arrangements according to their sign, i.e. + or -
    • G02B9/12—Optical objectives characterised both by the number of the components and their arrangements according to their sign, i.e. + or - having three components only
    • G02B9/14—Optical objectives characterised both by the number of the components and their arrangements according to their sign, i.e. + or - having three components only arranged + - +
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B9/00—Optical objectives characterised both by the number of the components and their arrangements according to their sign, i.e. + or -
    • G02B9/64—Optical objectives characterised both by the number of the components and their arrangements according to their sign, i.e. + or - having more than six components

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an objective lens, an optical system, and a microscope.
  • An objective lens according to a first mode comprises, disposed in order from an objects a positive lens; a negative meniscus lens cemented to the positive lens and having a concave surface facing the object; and a positive meniscus lens having a concave surface facing the object; wherein the objective lens satisfies following conditional expressions 2.03 ⁇ n 1 m ⁇ 2.30 and 20 ⁇ 1 m,
  • n1m a refractive index of the negative meniscus lens with respect to a d-line
  • ⁇ 1m an Abbe number of the negative meniscus lens.
  • An optical system according to a second mode comprises the objective lens of the first mode and an image forming lens.
  • a microscope according to a third mode comprises the objective lens of the first mode.
  • FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 1;
  • FIG. 2 shows various aberration graphs of the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 2;
  • FIG. 4 shows various aberration graphs of the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 2.
  • FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 3.
  • FIG. 6 shows various aberration graphs of the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 3.
  • FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 4.
  • FIG. 8 shows various aberration graphs of the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 4.
  • FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an image forming lens.
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a main part of a microscope having an immersion microscope objective lens.
  • immersion microscope objective lenses and microscopes of a present embodiment will be described with reference to drawings.
  • the immersion microscope objective lenses which have a large field view and a sufficient working distance and are capable of obtaining good optical performance even at the periphery of the field view while maintaining a comparatively high numerical aperture, will be described.
  • an immersion microscope objective lens OL ( 1 ) shown in FIG. 1 comprises, disposed in order from an object: a positive lens L 11 , which is plano-convex or has a small object-side curvature (so that it is close to a flat surface), a negative meniscus lens L 12 cemented to the positive lens L 11 and having a concave surface facing the object; and a positive meniscus lens L 13 having a concave surface facing the object.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL according to the present embodiment may be an immersion microscope objective lens OL ( 2 ) shown in FIG. 3 , may be an immersion microscope objective lens OL ( 3 ) shown in FIG.
  • FIG. 5 or may be an immersion microscope objective lens OL ( 4 ) shown in FIG. 7 .
  • the lenses of the immersion microscope objective lenses OL ( 2 ) to OL ( 4 ) shown in FIG. 3 , FIG. 5 , and FIG. 7 are configured in the same manner as the immersion microscope objective lens OL ( 1 ) shown in FIG. 1 .
  • the lens nearest to the object often consists of a single meniscus lens having a concave surface, which has a comparatively small radius of curvature and faces the object.
  • the incident angle of the light flux which has a large angle spread from the object surface and is incident on the lens nearest to the object, is reduced to suppress occurrence of aberrations such as spherical aberrations.
  • the Petzval sum is reduced by the concave surface of the lens nearest to the object to contribute to correction of field curvature.
  • the lens surface nearest to the object often consists of a flat surface or a gentle curve surface in order to facilitate cleaning of a front end and to prevent bubbles from being mixed in immersion liquid. If the shape of the lens nearest to the object is merely configured to be approximately piano-convex, the element of the negative refractive power which reduces the Petzval sum is lost. In view of this, there is a conceivable method in which an approximately piano-convex positive lens having a relatively low refractive index is cemented to a negative meniscus lens having a relatively high refractive index to ensure the negative refractive power by the cemented surface. By virtue of this, field curvature can be corrected.
  • the effective diameter of the positive lens which is nearest to the object, increases, and it becomes difficult to sufficiently reduce the radius of curvature of the cemented surface as a result.
  • the refractive power of a lens surface is determined by the difference between the front/rear refractive indexes of the lens surface and the radius of curvature of the lens surface. If the difference between the refractive indexes of the positive lens and the negative meniscus lens is increased, the amount caused by the increase of the radius of curvature of the cemented surface can be canceled out.
  • the refractive index of conventional glass is at most about 2.0, and therefore there has been a limit to increase the difference between the refractive indexes of the positive lens and the negative meniscus lens.
  • a new glass manufacturing method called levitation melting enables vitrification of unstable compositions, which had been difficult to be vitrified.
  • manufacturing of glass that has a high refractive index, comparatively small dispersion, and a high transmission even at short wavelengths is becoming possible. If such high-refractive-index glass is used as a negative meniscus lens, the refractive index difference between the positive lens and the negative meniscus lens increases, and the amount caused by the increase of the radius of curvature of the cemented surface can be cancelled out. Therefore, the Petzval sum can be reduced.
  • the diverging light flux emitted from the object transmits through the positive lens L 11 and the negative meniscus lens L 12 and is bent at the positive meniscus lens L 13 toward the converging side. Since the positive meniscus lens L 13 has comparatively large refractive power in order to suppress divergence of light flux, this lens is desired to be meniscus with a concave surface facing the object so that a large aberration does not occur.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL according to the present embodiment having the above described configuration satisfies following conditional expressions (1) and (2). 2.03 ⁇ n 1 m ⁇ 2.30 (1) and 20 ⁇ 1 m (2),
  • n1m the refractive index of the negative meniscus lens L 12 with respect to the d-line
  • ⁇ 1m the Abbe number of the negative meniscus lens L 12 .
  • the conditional expression (1) is a conditional expression for defining an appropriate refractive index of the glass material used for the negative meniscus lens L 12 . If the corresponding value of the conditional expression (1) is lower than the lower limit, sufficient negative refractive power cannot be obtained at the cemented surface of the positive lens L 11 , which has an object-side lens surface contacting immersion liquid, and the negative meniscus lens L 12 . As a result, the Petzval sum cannot be sufficiently reduced, and flatness of an image surface is lowered, which is not preferred.
  • the lower limit of the conditional expression (1) may preferably be 2.05.
  • the upper limit of the conditional expression (1) may preferably be 2.20.
  • the conditional expression (2) is a conditional expression for defining an appropriate Abbe number of the glass material used for the negative meniscus lens L 12 . If the corresponding value of the conditional expression (2) is lower than the lower limit, dispersion becomes too large, and differences in field curvature and coma aberrations due to colors are increased. Therefore, it becomes difficult to correct the field curvature and coma aberrations by the negative meniscus lens L 12 and following lenses.
  • the lower limit of the conditional expression (2) may preferably be 25.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL of the present embodiment may satisfy a following conditional expression (2A) instead of above described conditional expression (2). 20 ⁇ 1 m ⁇ 40 (2A)
  • the conditional expression (2A) is also a conditional expression for defining an appropriate Abbe number of the glass material used for the negative meniscus lens L 12 . If the corresponding value of the conditional expression (2A) is lower than the lower limit, dispersion becomes too large, and differences in field curvature and coma aberrations due to colors are increased. Therefore, it becomes difficult to correct the field curvature and coma aberrations by the negative meniscus lens L 12 and following lenses. In order to ensure the effects of the present embodiment, the lower limit of the conditional expression (2A) may preferably be 25.
  • the upper limit of the conditional expression (2A) may preferably be 35.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL of the present embodiment may satisfy a following conditional expression (3). 1.40 ⁇ n 1 p ⁇ 1.60 (3),
  • n1p a the refractive index of the positive lens L 11 with respect to the d-line.
  • the conditional expression (3) is a conditional expression for defining an appropriate refractive index of the glass material used for the positive lens L 11 . If the corresponding value of the conditional expression (3) is higher than the upper limit, sufficient negative refractive power cannot be obtained at the cemented surface of the positive lens L 11 and the negative meniscus lens L 12 . As a result, the Petzval sum cannot be sufficiently reduced, and flatness of the image surface is lowered, which is not preferred.
  • the upper limit of the conditional expression (3) may preferably be 1.55 and may more preferably be 1.52.
  • the lower limit of the conditional expression (3) may preferably be 1.45.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL of the present embodiment may satisfy following conditional expressions (4) and (5), 0.3 ⁇ ( d 0+ d 1 p )/( ⁇ r 1 c ) ⁇ 1.8 (4) and 0.8 ⁇ ( ⁇ r 1 m )/ d 1 m ⁇ 1.7 (5),
  • d0 the distance from the object to an object-side lens surface of the positive lens L 11 along the optical axis
  • d1p the thickness of the positive lens L 11 along the optical axis
  • d1m the thickness of the negative meniscus lens L 12 along the optical axis
  • r1c the radius of curvature of the cemented surface of the positive lens L 11 and the negative meniscus lens L 12 , where convex toward the object is positive
  • r1m the radius of curvature of the image-side lens surface of the negative meniscus lens L 12 , where convex toward the object is positive.
  • the conditional expression (4) is the conditional expression for defining an appropriate proportion of the radius of curvature of the cemented surface of the positive lens L 11 and the negative meniscus lens L 12 to the distance from the object to the cemented surface. If the corresponding value of the conditional expression (4) is higher than the upper limit, the radius of curvature of the cemented surface of the positive lens L 11 and the negative meniscus lens L 12 becomes too small, and the effective diameter of off-axis light flux cannot be satisfied in a large field view, which causes shading in the periphery of the field view.
  • the upper limit of the conditional expression (4) may preferably be 1.3.
  • the lower limit of the conditional expression (4) may preferably be 0.4.
  • the conditional expression (5) is a conditional expression for defining an appropriate proportion of the radius of curvature of the image-side lens surface of the negative meniscus lens L 12 to the thickness of the negative meniscus lens L 12 along the optical axis. If the corresponding value of the conditional expression (5) is higher than the upper limit, the radius of curvature of the image-side lens surface of the negative meniscus lens L 12 becomes large, and the light flux from the object is excessively expanded. If expansion of the light flux is to be suppressed, the radii of curvature of the lens surfaces of the positive meniscus lens L 13 have to be reduced, and it becomes difficult to prepare the positive meniscus lens L 13 . In order to ensure the effects of the present embodiment, the upper limit of the conditional expression (5) may preferably be 1.5.
  • the lower limit of the conditional expression (5) may preferably be 0.9.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL of the present embodiment may satisfy following conditional expressions (6) and (7), 4.0 ⁇ NA ⁇ f ⁇ 15.0 (6) and 0.03 ⁇ d 0/ f ⁇ 0.20 (7),
  • NA the object-side numerical aperture of the immersion microscope objective lens OL
  • d0 the distance from the object to the object-side lens surface of the positive lens L 11 along the optical axis.
  • the conditional expression (6) is a conditional expression related to the field view and image brightness which can be observed by the microscope. If the corresponding value of the conditional expression (6) is lower than the lower limit, the magnification of the immersion microscope objective lens inevitably increases, and the field view which can be observed is narrowed.
  • the lower limit of the conditional expression (6) may preferably be 5.0 and more preferably be 6.0.
  • the upper limit of the conditional expression (6) may preferably be 12.0 and more preferably be 10.0.
  • the conditional expression (7) is a conditional expression for defining an appropriate working distance. If the corresponding value of the conditional expression (7) is lower than the lower limit, a sufficient working distance for observing the inside of a thick sample cannot be obtained.
  • the lower limit of the conditional expression (7) may preferably be 0.05 and more preferably be 0.06.
  • the upper limit of the conditional expression (7) may preferably be 0.15 and more preferably be 0.13.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL of the present embodiment may consist of, disposed in order from the object, a first lens group G 1 having positive refractive power, a second lens group G 2 having positive refractive power, and a third lens group G 3 having negative refractive power.
  • the first lens group G 1 consists of, disposed in order from the object, the positive lens L 11 , the negative meniscus lens L 12 , and the positive meniscus lens L 13 .
  • the second lens group G 2 has a function to subject the light flux from the first lens group G 1 , which is still in a diverging state, to aberration correction and, at the same time, gradually convert it to converged light flux.
  • the second lens group G 2 has at least two cemented lenses. At the first lens group G 1 , various aberrations such as spherical aberrations and chromatic aberrations are still remaining. Therefore, these aberrations are mainly corrected by the cemented lenses of or following the lens group G 2 .
  • both of the positive lenses and the negative lenses constituting the cemented lenses of the second lens group G 2 are desired to be formed of glass materials having abnormal dispersibility.
  • the second lens group G 2 requires the plurality of cemented lenses in order to correct primary chromatic aberrations.
  • the cemented lens of the second lens group G 2 is not limited to a cemented lens formed by cementing two lenses, but usage of a cemented lens formed by cementing three lenses is also effective.
  • the third lens group G 3 has a function to convert the converged light flux, which is from the second lens group G 2 , to parallel light flux and guide it to a later-described image forming lens.
  • the third lens group G 3 has a first opposing negative lens L 34 having an image-side lens surface with a concave surface facing the image side and has a second opposing negative lens L 35 disposed to be opposed to the image side of the first opposing negative lens L 34 and having an object-side lens surface with a concave surface facing the object.
  • the Petzval sum can be reduced so as to complement the first lens group G 1 .
  • the third lens group G 3 has a second opposing positive lens L 36 cemented to the image side of the second opposing negative lens L 35 .
  • the image-side lens surface of the second opposing positive lens L 36 has a concave surface facing the object.
  • the objective lens may satisfy following conditional expressions (8) and (9), 1.70 ⁇ n 3 p ⁇ 2.00 (8) and 25 ⁇ 3 p ⁇ 45 (9),
  • n3p a refractive index of the second opposing positive lens L 36 with respect to the d-line
  • ⁇ 3p the Abbe number of the second opposing positive lens L 36 .
  • the conditional expression (8) is a conditional expression for defining an appropriate refractive index of the glass material used for the second opposing positive lens L 36 , which is disposed to be nearest to the image side in the third lens group G 3 .
  • the radius of curvature of the second opposing positive lens L 36 has to be reduced.
  • the lower limit of the conditional expression (8) may preferably be 1.80.
  • the upper limit of the conditional expression (8) may preferably be 1.96 and more preferably be 1.92.
  • the conditional expression (9) is a conditional expression for defining an appropriate Abbe number of the glass material used for the second opposing positive lens L 36 . If the corresponding value of the conditional expression (9) is higher than the upper limit, it becomes difficult to correct the chromatic aberration of magnification. In order to ensure the effects of the present embodiment, the upper limit of the conditional expression (9) may preferably be 40.
  • the lower limit of the conditional expression (9) may preferably be 30.
  • the third lens group G 3 may consist of, disposed in order from the object, a first cemented lens, a second cemented lens, and a third cemented lens; the second cemented lens may consist of the first opposing negative lens L 34 and a first opposing positive lens L 33 cemented to the object side of the first opposing negative lens L 341 and the third cemented lens may consist of the second opposing negative lens L 35 and a second opposing positive lens L 36 cemented to the image side of the second opposing negative lens L 35 .
  • the light flux is narrowed by the first opposing positive lens L 33 and the second opposing positive lens L 36 in the front and rear, wherein the first opposing negative lens L 34 and the second opposing negative lens L 35 having the concave surfaces with comparatively high refractive power opposed to each other are disposed. Therefore, the Petzval sum can be reduced so as to complement the first lens group G 1 .
  • the distance between the second lens group G 2 and the third lens group G 3 may be variable depending on the thickness of a cover glass C.
  • the light flux height difference of the light flux converged by the second lens group G 2 is comparatively increased by the air distance between the second lens group G 2 and the third lens group G 3 .
  • the air distance between the second lens group G 2 and the third lens group G 3 is varied, it functions as a so-called correction collar, and the spherical aberration, which varies depending on the thickness of the cover glass C, can be corrected.
  • the first cemented lens may be disposed between the cemented lenses, which include the first opposing negative lens L 34 and the second opposing negative lens L 35 (the second cemented lens and the third cemented lens), and the second lens group G 2 .
  • the incident height of the rays, which are incident on the third lens group G 3 does not become excessively low, and the spherical aberration can be corrected well when the air distance between the second lens group G 2 and the third lens group 3 is varied.
  • the glass material of the negative meniscus lens L 12 (will be referred to as glass for the lens L 12 hereinafter for explanatory convenience)
  • optical glass containing B 3+ , La 3+ , and, arbitrarily, Nb 5+ as cationic components is used.
  • the glass for the lens L 12 of the present embodiment contains B 3+ at a percentage of 10 cat % or higher and 50 cat % or lower in the percentage (shown by cation %) with respect to all the cationic components contained in the glass.
  • the glass for the lens L 12 contains Nb 5+ at a percentage of 0 cat % or higher and 40 cat or lower in the percentage with respect to all the cationic components contained in the glass.
  • the glass for the lens L 12 contains La 3+ , which is a rare-earth ion, at a percentage of 40 cat % or higher and 65 cat or lower, preferably at a percentage of 50 cat % or higher and 65 cat % or lower, and more preferably at a percentage of 54 cat % or higher and 65 cat % or lower in the percentage with respect to all the cationic components contained in the glass.
  • the glass for the lens L 12 does not contain Nb 5+
  • the glass contains La 3+ at a percentage of 40 cat % or higher and 63 cat % or lower and preferably at a percentage of 50 cat % or higher and 63 cat % or lower.
  • the total percentage of B 3+ , La 3+ , and Nb 5+ in the glass for the lens L 12 is 80 cat % or higher and 100 cat % or lower in the percentage with respect to all the cationic components contained in the glass.
  • cation % (cat %) shows the percentage of the number of any of the cations with respect to the total number of cations such as the number of B 3+ , the number of La 3+ , and the number of Nb 5+ .
  • the cation % of La 3+ in the case in which only B 3+ , La 3+ , and Nb 5+ are contained as the cationic components is the percentage of the number of La 3+ with respect to the total of the number of B 3+ , the number of La 3+ , and the number of Nb 5+ .
  • the raw materials of such optical glass can be selected, for example, from publicly known materials such as oxides, hydroxides, carbonates, nitrates, and sulfates containing above described cationic components such as B 2 O 3 , La 2 O 3 , Nb 2 O 5 , etc., in accordance with preparation conditions of the glass.
  • Such optical glass can be manufactured by floating dissolution method (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2014-196236 (A)).
  • the glass can be manufactured by irradiating a sample with laser of a carbon dioxide gas or the like to fuse the sample by using a laser levitation furnace, causing the fused matter to float by the fluid of a floating gas jetted out from a nozzle, and then solidify it by cooling.
  • the floating gas is only required to be able to float the sample, and the gas can be arbitrarily selected from inert gases typified by air, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, etc. and dry air, etc. depending on its use.
  • the levitation melting is also referred to as non-container coagulation method, which is a method to obtain glass by heating and fusing a material and then solidify it by cooling without using a container of, for example, a Pt alloy (Pt or a platinum alloy, wherein, for example, Pt—Au, Pt—Au—Rh, or the like is used).
  • a Pt alloy Pt or a platinum alloy, wherein, for example, Pt—Au, Pt—Au—Rh, or the like is used.
  • the glasses for the lens L 12 which are shown as examples in later-described Examples 1 to 4 and have high refractive indexes, can be obtained.
  • a microscope of the present embodiment comprises the immersion microscope objective lens OL having the above described configuration.
  • a microscope (immersion microscope) having the immersion microscope objective lens OL according to the present embodiment will be described based on FIG. 10 .
  • This microscope 100 comprises a stand 101 , a stage 111 attached to a base part 102 of the stand 101 , a lens barrel 121 attached to the arm part 103 of the stand 101 , and an imaging part 131 coupled to the lens barrel 121 .
  • An unshown observation object for example, a biological sample
  • a cover glass C denotation thereof is omitted in FIG. 10
  • a condenser lens 117 which constitutes a transmitting illuminator 116 , is attached below the stage ill. Note that, in addition to the stage 111 , the above described transmitting illuminator 116 , a transmitting illuminator light source 118 , etc. are attached to the base part 102 of the stand 101 .
  • An objective lens 122 is attached to a revolver 126 provided below the lens barrel 121 .
  • the space between the front end of the objective lens 122 and the cover glass C is configured to be filled with immersion liquid.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL according to the present embodiment is used as the objective lens 122 attached below the lens barrel 121 .
  • the lens barrel 121 is provided with an image forming lens 123 and a prima 124 .
  • a later-described image forming lens IL is used as the image forming lens 123 provided in the lens barrel 121 .
  • a shot fluorescence equipment 127 , a shot fluorescence light source 128 , an eyepiece 129 , etc. are attached to the lens barrel 121 .
  • the imaging part 131 is provided with an imaging element 132 .
  • the light from the observation object transmits through the cover glass C and the immersion liquid, the objective lens 122 , the image forming lens 123 , and the prism 124 and reaches the imaging element 132 .
  • the image of the observation object is formed on an image surface of the imaging element 132 by the image forming lens 123 , and the image of the observation object is formed by the imaging element 132 .
  • the image of the observation object formed and obtained by the imaging element 132 is displayed by a monitor MT via an external computer PC.
  • the image data of the observation object formed and obtained by the imaging element 132 can be subjected to various image processing by the external computer PC.
  • the microscope 100 when it is equipped with the immersion microscope objective lens OL according to the above described embodiment, the microscope having a large field view and a sufficient working distance, wherein optical performance is good even at the periphery of the field view, can be obtained.
  • the microscope 100 may be an upright microscope or may be an inverted microscope.
  • immersion microscope objective lenses OL according to Examples of the present embodiment will be described based on drawings.
  • the immersion microscope objective lenses OL according to Examples are designed as those of an oil immersion (silicone oil) type.
  • the refractive index of a cover glass to be used with respect to the d-line is ndB
  • the Abbe number thereof based on the d-line is ⁇ dB
  • the thickness thereof is tc, where ndB is 1.52439, ⁇ dB is 54.3, and tc is 0.17 am.
  • FIG. 1 , FIG. 3 , FIG. 5 , and FIG. 7 are cross-sectional views showing the configurations of the immersion microscope objective lenses OL (OL ( 1 ) to OL ( 4 )) according to Examples 1 to 4.
  • each lens group is represented by the combination of a reference sign G and a number (or alphabet)
  • each lens is represented by the combination of a reference sign L and a number (or alphabet).
  • the lenses, etc. are independently denoted in each Example by using the combinations of reference sings and numbers. Therefore, even if the same combinations of reference signs and numbers are used among Examples, it does not mean that they have the same configurations.
  • Table 1 to Table 4 are shown below, and, among them, Table 1 is the table showing the data of Example 1, Table 2 is the table showing the data of Example 2, Table 3 is the table showing the data of Example 3, and Table 4 is the table showing the data of Example 4.
  • f represents the focal length of the whole system of the immersion microscope objective lens OL
  • ⁇ represents magnification
  • NA represents the object-side numerical aperture of the immersion microscope objective lens OL
  • DO represents the distance from the end face of the cover glass to the lens surface (later described first surface) which is the nearest to the object along the optical axis in the immersion microscope objective lens OL.
  • surface numbers show the order of lens surfaces from the object
  • R represents the radii of curvature corresponding to respective surface numbers (the value is positive if the lens surface is convex toward the object)
  • D represents the lens thicknesses or air distances corresponding to respective surface numbers along the optical axis
  • ⁇ d represents the d-line-based Abbe numbers of the glass materials corresponding to respective surface numbers.
  • the radius of curvature “ ⁇ ” represents a flat surface or an aperture.
  • the tables of [Variable Distance Data] of Examples show the distance Di to the next lens surface of a surface number i for which the distance to the next lens surface is “variable” in the table showing [Lens Data]. For example, in Example 1, the distance D 14 of the surface number 14 to the next lens surface is shown. Note that, the table of [Variable Distance Data] shows the value of the variable distance corresponding to the thickness tc of the cover glass.
  • m is used for the specified focal lengths f, radii of curvature R, the distances D to the next lens surfaces, other lengths, and so on unless otherwise specified.
  • the values are not limited thereto since an optical system can achieve equivalent optical performance even when it is proportionally enlarged or proportionally contracted.
  • FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 1 of the present embodiment.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL ( 1 ) according to Example 1 consists of a first lens group G 1 having positive refractive power, a second lens group G 2 having positive refractive power, and a third lens group G 3 having negative refractive power, wherein the lens groups are disposed in order from the object.
  • the first lens group G 1 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a cemented lens, which consists of a plano-convex positive lens L 11 and a negative meniscus lens L 12 having a concave surface facing the object, and a positive meniscus lens L 13 having a concave surface facing the object.
  • a cover glass C is disposed in the object side of the first lens group G 1 , and the space between the cover glass C and the positive lens L 11 is filled with immersion liquid (oil).
  • the second lens group G 2 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a first cemented lens, which consists of a first biconcave negative lens L 21 and a first biconvex positive lens L 22 ; a second biconvex positive lens L 23 , which is a single lens and a second cemented lens, which consists of a third biconvex positive lens L 24 , a second biconcave negative lens L 25 , and a fourth biconvex positive lens L 26 .
  • the third lens group G 3 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a first cemented lens, which consists of a meniscus negative lens L 31 having a convex surface facing the object and a biconvex positive lens L 32 ; a second cemented lens, which consists of a first biconvex opposing positive lens L 33 and a first biconcave opposing negative lens L 34 and a third cemented lens, which consists of a second meniscus opposing negative lens L 35 having a concave surface facing the object and a second meniscus opposing positive lens L 36 having a concave surface facing the object.
  • FIG. 2 shows graphs of various aberrations (a graph of spherical aberrations, a graph of field curvature aberrations, a distortion graph, a graph of chromatic aberration of magnifications, and a graph of ray aberrations) of the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 1.
  • a graph of spherical aberrations a graph of field curvature aberrations
  • a distortion graph a graph of chromatic aberration of magnifications
  • a graph of ray aberrations a graph of various aberrations of FIG.
  • NA represents a numerical aperture
  • B represents magnification
  • Y represents an image height
  • d, g, C, and F respectively.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 1 corrects various aberrations well and has excellent image forming performance.
  • FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 2 of the present embodiment.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL ( 2 ) according to Example 2 consists of a first lens group G 1 having positive refractive power, a second lens group G 2 having positive refractive power, and a third lens group G 3 having negative refractive power, wherein the lens groups are disposed in order from the object.
  • the first lens group G 1 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a cemented lens, which consists of a piano-convex positive lens L 11 and a negative meniscus lens L 12 having a concave surface facing the object, and a positive meniscus lens L 13 having a concave surface facing the object.
  • a cover glass C is disposed in the object side of the first lens group G 1 , and the space between the cover glass C and the positive lens L 11 is filled with immersion liquid (oil).
  • the second lens group G 2 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a first meniscus positive lens L 21 , which is a single lens having a concave surface facing the object; a first cemented lens, which consists of a second biconvex positive lens L 22 and a first meniscus negative lens L 23 having a concave surface facing the object, and a second cemented lens, which consists of a third biconvex positive lens L 24 , a second biconcave negative lens L 25 , and a fourth biconvex positive lens L 26 .
  • the third lens group G 3 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a first cemented lens, which consists of a meniscus negative lens L 31 having a convex surface facing the object and a biconvex positive lens L 32 ; a second cemented lens, which consists of a first biconvex opposing positive lens L 33 and a first biconcave opposing negative lens L 34 ; and a third cemented lens, which consists of a second meniscus opposing negative lens L 35 having a concave surface facing the object and a second meniscus opposing positive lens L 36 having a concave surface facing the object.
  • FIG. 4 shows various aberration graphs of the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 2. According to the various aberration graphs, it can be understood that the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 2 corrects various aberrations well and has excellent image forming performance.
  • FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 3 of the present embodiment.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL ( 3 ) according to Example 3 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a first lens group G 1 having positive refractive power, a second lens group G 2 having positive refractive power, and a third lens group G 3 having negative refractive power.
  • the first lens group G 1 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a cemented lens, which consists of a plano-convex positive lens L 11 and a negative meniscus lens L 12 having a concave surface facing the object, and a positive meniscus lens L 13 having a concave surface facing the object.
  • a cover glass C is disposed in the object side of the first lens group G 1 , and the space between the cover glass C and the positive lens L 11 is filled with immersion liquid (oil).
  • the second lens group G 2 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a first meniscus positive lens L 21 , which is a single lens having a concave surface facing the object; a first cemented lens, which consists of a second biconvex positive lens L 22 and a first meniscus negative lens L 23 having a concave surface facing the object; a second cemented lens, which consists of a third biconvex positive lens L 24 , a second biconcave negative lens L 25 , and a fourth biconvex positive lens L 26 ; and a fifth biconvex positive lens L 27 , which is a single lens.
  • the third lens group G 3 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a first cemented lens, which consists of a meniscus negative lens L 31 having a convex surface facing the object and a biconvex positive lens L 32 ; a second cemented lens, which consists of a first meniscus opposing positive lens L 33 having a convex surface facing the object and a first meniscus opposing negative lens L 34 having a convex surface facing the object; and a third cemented lens, which consists of a second meniscus opposing negative lens L 35 having a concave surface facing the object and a second meniscus opposing positive lens L 36 having a concave surface facing the object.
  • FIG. 6 shows various aberration graphs of the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 3. According to the various aberration graphs, it can be understood that the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 3 corrects various aberrations well and has excellent image forming performance.
  • FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 4 of the present embodiment.
  • the immersion microscope objective lens OL ( 4 ) according to Example 4 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a first lens group G 1 having positive refractive power, a second lens group G 2 having positive refractive power, and a third lens group G 3 having negative refractive power.
  • the first lens group G 1 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a cemented lens, which consists of a piano-convex positive lens L 11 and a negative meniscus lens L 12 having a concave surface facing the object, and a positive meniscus lens L 13 having a concave surface facing the object.
  • a cover glass C is disposed in the object side of the first lens group G 1 , and the space between the cover glass C and the positive lens L 11 is filled with immersion liquid (oil).
  • the second lens group G 2 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a first cemented lens, which consists of a first biconcave negative lens L 21 and a first biconvex positive lens L 22 ; a second cemented lens, which consists of a second biconcave negative lens L 23 and a second biconvex positive lens L 24 ; and a third cemented lens, which consists of a third meniscus negative lens L 25 having a convex surface facing the object and a third biconvex positive lens L 26 .
  • the third lens group G 3 consists of, disposed in order from the object, a first cemented lens, which consists of a biconvex positive lens L 31 and a biconcave negative lens L 32 ; a second cemented lens, which consists of a first biconvex opposing positive lens L 33 and a first biconcave opposing negative lens L 34 ; and a third cemented lens, which consists of a second meniscus opposing negative lens L 35 having a concave surface facing the object and a second meniscus opposing positive lens L 36 having a concave surface facing the object.
  • FIG. 8 shows various aberration graphs of the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 4. According to the various aberration graphs, it can be understood that the immersion microscope objective lens according to Example 4 corrects various aberrations well and has excellent image forming performance.
  • the immersion microscope objective lenses according to Examples are the infinity correction lenses. Therefore, the lens is used in a mode of a finite-corrected optical system, which is combined with an image forming lens for forming an image of the object. Therefore, an example of the image forming lens used in combination with the immersion microscope objective lens will be described by using FIG. 9 and Table 5.
  • FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the image forming lens used in combination with the immersion microscope objective lens according to any of Examples.
  • the various aberration graphs of the immersion microscope objective lens according to Examples were obtained by using the lens in combination with this image forming lens.
  • the image forming lens IL is disposed in the image side of the immersion microscope objective lens according to any of Examples.
  • the immersion microscope objective lenses which have a large field view and a sufficient working distance and are capable of obtaining good optical performance even at the periphery of the field view while maintaining a comparatively high numerical aperture, can be realized.
  • a large field view number can be obtained compared with the immersion microscope objective lens according to above described Patent literature 1.

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JP2022113905A (ja) 2022-08-04
EP3623859A4 (en) 2021-01-13
US20200033577A1 (en) 2020-01-30
CN110612468A (zh) 2019-12-24
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US20230408804A1 (en) 2023-12-21
WO2018207833A1 (ja) 2018-11-15

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